why is louis armstrong important

He was also a talented singer, and his recordings of songs like What a One of the first many New Orleans style jazz artists is Jelly Roll Morton. While performing with Tate in 1926, Armstrong finally switched from the cornet to the trumpet. To many young jazz listeners at the time, Armstrong's ever-smiling demeanor seemed like it was from a bygone era, and the trumpeter's refusal to comment on politics for many years only furthered perceptions that he was out of touch. The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of His mother, Mayann, was 15 years old when he was born and his father, Willie, abandoned them soon after. One day, they even advanced him the $5 he used to buy his very first horn. Armstrong practiced his instrument and eventually he became the jazz great everyone knows today. Copy. In 1922, King Oliver sent for Armstrong to join his band in Chicago. His Top Ten version of "Hobo, You Can't Ride This Train," in the charts in early 1933, was on Victor Records; when he returned to the U.S. in 1935, he signed to the recently formed Decca Records and quickly scored a double-sided Top Ten hit, "I'm in the Mood for Love"/"You Are My Lucky Star.". It is said that during a session, Armstrong dropped his sheet music and started mimicking the sounds of the horn with his voice. However, had his upbringing been different, his musical talents may never have been established to grow and thrive into one of the most internationally influential jazz musicians ever. Armstrong made his first trip abroad, to Europe, and received the nickname Satchmo from his original nickname Satchelmouth, because of his big lips. The year 1956 saw Louisiana prohibit integrated bands. By the mid-'40s, the Swing Era was winding down and the era of big bands was almost over. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. Louis Armstrong is considered a hero for many reasons. Coupled with his astonishing performing skills and charismatic stage presence, Armstrong took the world by storm and popularized jazz as we know it today. But, as a Bayou State native, Armstrongs favorite dish was always rice and beans. He adds, "He was also more than a jazz musician he was an enormously popular entertainer"(pp. He was by far the most enduringly popular man of all the classical composers, and his influence on following Western art music was very good and intense., Intro Music historians recognize this as the first popular, mass-market scat ever recorded. Dancers loved Hendersons music making Louis Armstrong a celebrity so when he left his old band, this would be a step up. His mother, who often turned to prostitution, frequently left him with his maternal grandmother. In 1947, the waning popularity of the big bands forced Armstrong to begin fronting a small group, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars. Armstrong's popularity continued to grow in Chicago throughout the decade, as he began playing other venues, including the Sunset Caf and the Savoy Ballroom. Armstrong put his career in Glaser's hands and asked him to make his troubles disappear. He embarked on his first European tour since 1935 in February 1948, and thereafter toured regularly around the world. In America, Armstrong had been a great Civil Rights pioneer, breaking down numerous barriers as a young man. Preston gave birth to a daughter, Sharon Preston, in 1955. He influenced countless other musicians and helped to shape the course of jazz. Glaser did just that; within a few months, Armstrong had a new big band and was recording for Decca Records. Louis's Father left him around childbirth, and his mother often used prostitution for money. He was a master of the trumpet and a skilled improviser, and his style of playing influenced many other jazz musicians. Why was Louis Armstrong so important? When Armstrong saw this as well as white protesters hurling invective at the students he blew his top to the press, telling a reporter that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had "no guts" for letting Faubus run the country, and stating, "The way they are treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell.". He was often left with his grandmother, and left school in fifth grade to start working. He was an extraordinary musician and he impacted jazz music immensely. He took a position as star soloist in Carroll Dickerson's band at the Savoy Ballroom in Chicago in March 1928, later taking over as the band's frontman. In 1938, Armstrong finally divorced Lil Hardin and married Alpha Smith, whom he had been dating for more than a decade. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The most important and influential musician in jazz history, and one of the leading singers and entertainers from the 1920s through the '50s. Louis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). Even the scepter of Uncle Tom that shadowed the outsized Satchmo during his career, and that Ellington essentially concurred with in an interview with Carter Harman in 1964, has faded. He has many nicknames in which some are Satchmo and Pops. Without the jazz musicians, jazz music would not have been possible. Louis was arrested by Police When he was eleven. Louis Armstrong was a pivotal musician in the twentieth century, but it was his contributions and his role he made during the Harlem Renaissance movement that is most substantial. He didn't own an instrument at this time, If one was to go out into the street, walked up to a random stranger and asked them if they knew who Louis Armstrong was, chances are that they would be able to answer you correctly. Armstrong spent his youth singing on the street for spare change, but he didnt receive any formal musical training until age 11. Louis gave jazz music a purpose. Hes a professional jazz performer who played with Oliver and Henderson. Armstrong decided to take some time off soon after the incident, and spent much of 1934 relaxing in Europe and resting his lip. His style was unique and his talent was undeniable. Why is Louis Armstrong important in the 20's? His rise to the top, though not overnight, occurred quickly, he played with mostly all the major bands in New Orleans over the next few years (Friedwald 350). The new style that he created gave a voice-like quality to his horn. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. Sure enough, he explained, they [published] Heebie Jeebies the same way it was mistakenly recorded. However, most biographers believe that Armstrong made up this anecdote and had planned on scatting all along. Louis Armstrong was an outstanding jazz musician during the Harlem Renaissance Era. He showed an early interest in music, and a junk dealer for whom he worked as a grade-school student helped him buy a cornet, which he taught himself to play. Armstrong could make an audience cheer, but Roy Eldridge, made those top and bottom notes feel like a natural part of what the horn should do (Friedwald 21). Armstrong spent the last decade of his life similarly that he had spent the four past enthralling groups of onlookers all through the world., Louis Blues, Overall Armstrong wrote and performed some of the most popular and well known jazz songs of all time. After a quick trip with a group of people to Venice, Mozart and his daddy returned back to his hometown Salzburg. Throughout the years, jazz musicians have created many new styles, new arrangements, and put this genre of music on the map., He affected the heading of jazz music and spontaneous creation. Midway through the recording session, he accidentally dropped them and scatted to fill the ensuing silence. WebLouis Armstrong. Then along came a bare-knuckled comedy called Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). In a 1951 interview with Esquire, Armstrong claimed to have come prepared with printed lyrics that day. Losing weight proved difficult at first, but his luck changed once he learned of an herbal laxative called Swiss Kriss. The artist promptly went out, bought a box, and became a lifelong spokesman. The 1930s also found Armstrong achieving great popularity on radio, in films, and with his recordings. He returned to Chicago in the spring of 1932 to front a band led by Zilner Randolph; the group toured around the country. The man was Louis Armstrong. WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. To grasp how much the man adored this entre, consider that he often signed his personal letters with Red Beans and Ricely Yours.. An early job working for the Jewish Karnofsky family allowed Armstrong to make enough money to purchase his first cornet. He was released on June 16, 1914, and did manual labor while trying to establish himself as a musician. He was a groundbreaking musician and a pioneer in the development of jazz music. These records later went on to become the most influential in jazz history, as it was the first time Armstrong facilitated the evolution of jazz as a ensemble to a soloist art. 1 hit around the world, including in England and South Africa, and eventually became one of Armstrong's most-beloved songs after it was used in the 1986 Robin Williams film Good Morning, Vietnam. Unhappy, Armstrong left Henderson in 1925 to return to Chicago, where he began playing with his wife's band at the Dreamland Caf. However, controversy regarding Armstrong's fatherhood struck in 1954, when a girlfriend that the musician had dated on the side, Lucille "Sweets" Preston, claimed she was pregnant with his child. Although he is often thought of by the general public as a lovable, clowning personality, a gravel-voiced singer who played simple but dramatic trumpet in a New Orleans-styled Dixieland setting, Armstrong himself was so much more. Louis Armstrong was the first black man in the U.S. to host a radio show. WebLouis Armstrong was a key asset to the Harlem Renaissance due to his inspiring music and playing his instruments for African Americans people during this period. William Armstrong, his father, was a factory worker who abandoned the family soon after the boy's birth. Career highlights, compiled by the Louis Armstrong House Museum: For the first time, Armstrong was really able to demonstrate his unique voice during those recording sessions. After being released at age fourteen, he worked selling papers, unloading boats, and selling coal from a cart. There, he received musical instruction on the cornet and fell in love with music. The single's B-side, and also a chart entry, was "A Kiss to Build a Dream On," sung by Armstrong in the film The Strip. WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. Though he was the product's biggest cheerleader, Armstrong neither requested nor received any payment from its manufacturers. By the end of the decade, the popularity of the Hot Fives and Sevens was enough to send Armstrong back to New York, where he appeared in the popular Broadway revue, Hot Chocolates. He soon began touring and never really stopped until his death in 1971. On New Year's Eve in 1912, Armstrong fired his stepfather's gun in the air during a New Year's Eve celebration and was arrested on the spot. As a trumpet virtuoso, his playing, beginning with the 1920s studio recordings he made with his Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles, charted a future for jazz in highly imaginative, emotionally charged improvisation. Pops had a special place in his heart for both Chinese and Italian food. Armstrong continued a grueling touring schedule into the late '50s, and it caught up with him in 1959, when he had a heart attack while traveling in Spoleto, Italy. Though he had finally spoken out after years of remaining publicly silent, he received criticism at the time from both Black and white public figures. Larkin states, "It is impossible to overstate Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong's importance in jazz." The most important and influential musician in jazz history, and one of the leading singers and entertainers from the 1920s through the '50s. He was known for both his joyous ways with the trumpet and his peculiarly touching and funny vocal style. Between 1952 and 1955, Armstrong shed 100 pounds. By 1932, Armstrong, who was now known as Satchmo, had begun appearing in movies and made his first tour of England. He wrote songs such as The Pearls, Millenburg Joys, Mr. Armstrong continued touring the world and making records with songs like Blueberry Hill (1949), Mack the Knife (1955) and Hello, Dolly! Armstrong moved to Chicago to join Oliver's band in August 1922 and made his first recordings as a member of the group in the spring of 1923. Pillars of Life 3 y Related Why was jazz so important? "Hotter Than That" was in the Top Ten in May 1928, followed in September by "West End Blues," which later became one of the first recordings named to the Grammy Hall of Fame. It won him a Grammy for best vocal performance. In a strange turn of events, it was during this tour that Armstrong's career fell apart: Years of blowing high notes had taken a toll on Armstrong's lips, and, following a fight with his manager Johnny Collins who already managed to get Armstrong into trouble with the Mafia he was left stranded overseas by Collins. His stop-time solos on numbers like "Cornet Chop Suey" and "Potato Head Blues" changed jazz history, featuring daring rhythmic choices, swinging phrasing and incredible high notes. The jazz magazine Down Beat agreed. Seeing "the writing on the wall," Armstrong scaled down to a smaller six-piece combo, the All Stars; personnel would frequently change, but this would be the group Armstrong would perform live with until the end of his career. This essay will have an introduction of the king of jazz music -- Louis Armstrong and his great influence on jazz history. By February 1927, Armstrong was well-enough known to front his own group, Louis Armstrong & His Stompers, at the Sunset Caf in Chicago. His notoriety for being the best jazz player of his time was secured as Armstrong's arrangement of swing and melodic development opened out and changed Henderson's band and in addition jazz overall. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 4, 1901. The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. He performed in Europe for the first time in 1932 and returned in 1933, staying for over a year because of a damaged lip. He was a master of the trumpet and a pioneer of jazz. He attended Colored Waifs Home in 1913 for eighteen months. The record was released in 1964 and quickly climbed to the top of the pop music charts, hitting the No. From 1925 to 1928, Armstrong made more than 60 records with the Hot Five and, later, the Hot Seven. To earn money, Armstrong sang on street corners, sold newspapers, and delivered coal. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus sent in the National Guard to prevent the Little Rock Nine nine African American students from entering the public school. By that point, Armstrong began dating the pianist in the band, Lillian Hardin. His fame rose when he composed several masterworks in the 1940s. WebBy the '50s, Armstrong was an established international celebrity--an icon to musicians and lovers of jazz--and a genial, infectiously optimistic presence wherever he appeared. They were always kind to me, Armstrong once reflected, [I] was just a little kid who could use a little word of kindness. Apart from monetary compensation, Armstrong was given a hot meal every evening and regular invitations to Karnofsky Shabbat dinners. He popularized scat singing and was the first musician to have his solo on a recording (Rodgers 85). What are some facts about Louis Armstrong?A Jewish immigrant family helped him buy his first horn. Armstrong first received musical training during a stint in juvenile detention. His wife helped jumpstart his solo career. Armstrong was one of the first celebrities to be arrested for drug possession. After a successful engagement in Las Vegas, Armstrong began taking engagements around the world, including in London and Washington, D.C. and New York (he performed for two weeks at New York's Waldorf-Astoria). 34-56 107th Street, Queens, NY 11368 718-478-8274 2023 Louis Armstrong House Museum, 34-56 107th Street, Queens, NY 11368 718-478-8274, The Louis Armstrong House Museum is a constituent of the. They treat me better all over the world than they do in my hometown, he said. Armstrong was still a popular attraction around the world in 1963, but hadn't made a record in two years. He worked for to get his instrument because his mother couldn't afford to buy him one. He was an all-star virtuoso, and came to prominence in the 1920s playing cornet and trumpet with an excitingly new and improvisational style. In 1924, Armstrong married Hardin, who urged Armstrong to leave Oliver and try to make it on his own. He returned to Broadway in the short-lived musical Swingin' the Dream in November 1939. Another one of Armstrongs notable qualities, scat singing (wordless singing/mummering) was also popularized during this. After recording with Oliver for over a year, Armstrong moved into what would become the most important early-jazz big band, Fletcher Hendersons Orchestra (Shipton 201). Armstrong was the primary ever "Genius" of jazz music. "What a Wonderful World" peaked on the U.S. music charts after Armstrong passed away. As an artist, Armstrong was embraced by two distinctly different audiences: jazz fans who revered him for his early innovations as an instrumentalist but were occasionally embarrassed by his lack of interest in later developments in jazz, especially his willingness to serve as a light entertainer; and pop fans, who delighted in his joyous performances, particularly as a vocalist, but were largely unaware of his significance as a jazz musician. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. In addition Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes., On the 26th day of December in 1788 there was a very great success. WebLouis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). Armstrong could make an audience cheer, but Roy Eldridge, made those top and bottom notes feel like a natural part of what the horn should do (Friedwald 21). Armstrong's words made front-page news around the world. One of the greatest cornet players in town, Joe "King" Oliver, began acting as a mentor to the young Armstrong, showing him pointers on the horn and occasionally using him as a sub. Louis Armstrongs significance and most famous songs In 1936, he became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography. He returned to performing in 1970 but it was too much, too soon and he passed away in his sleep on July 6, 1971, a few months after his final engagement at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. He weathered the bebop period of the '40s, growing ever more beloved worldwide. During this time, Armstrong taught the band how to swing. The tune did, however, become a No. On New Years Eve 1912, he was arrested and sent to the Colored Waifs Home for Boys. This newfound popularity introduced Armstrong to a new, younger audience, and he continued making both successful records and concert appearances for the rest of the decade, even cracking the "Iron Curtain" with a tour of Communist countries such as East Berlin and Czechoslovakia in 1965. (Jazz From New Orleans, Jazz music was one of the most popular music genres in the 1920s and 1930s. His music had had a major effect on "swing" and the big band sound. Armstrong sang his heart out on the number, thinking of his home in Queens as he did so, but "What a Wonderful World" received little promotion in the United States. WebCourtesy of the Louis Armstrong Archive Queens College, CUNY. Back in Chicago, OKeh Records decided to let Armstrong make his first records with a band under his own name: Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five. A year later, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Also in 1936, Louis Armstrong became the first African American to get featured billing in a major Hollywood movie with his turn in. Heart and kidney problems forced him to stop performing in 1969. By 1968, Armstrong's grueling lifestyle had finally caught up with him. Louis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. Shortly thereafter, Armstrong bragged about the child to his manager, Joe Glaser, in a letter that would later be published in the book Louis Armstrong In His Own Words (1999). He was taken under the wing of cornetist Joe "King" Oliver, and when Oliver moved to Chicago in June 1918, Armstrong replaced him in the Kid Ory Band. Copy. Louis Armstrong was important in the 1920's because he put a whole new meaning to jazz. With the decline of swing music in the post-World War II years, Armstrong broke up his big band and put together a small group dubbed His All-Stars, which made its debut in Los Angeles on August 13, 1947. .State Department and earning the nickname "Ambassador Satch." WebImportance of Louis Armstrong. The civil rights movement was growing stronger with each passing year, with more protests, marches and speeches from African Americans wanting equal rights. Perhaps most importantly, the letters also detail Armstrong's fatherly love for Sharon. His lips were still sore, and there were still remnants of his mob troubles and with Lil, who, following the couple's split, was suing Armstrong. Their marriage was not a happy one, however, and they divorced in 1942. His rise to fame peaked in the 1920s, where he stunned the world with his bold trumpet style and idiosyncratic vocals. Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), DOWNLOAD BIOGRAPHY'S LOUIS ARMSTRONG FACT CARD, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Louis Armstrong, Birth Year: 1901, Birth date: August 4, 1901, Birth State: Louisiana, Birth City: New Orleans, Birth Country: United States, Best Known For: Louis Armstrong was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader and singer known for songs like "What a Wonderful World, Hello, Dolly, Star Dust and "La Vie En Rose., Astrological Sign: Leo. That same year, he became the first African American to get featured billing in a major Hollywood movie with his turn in Pennies from Heaven, starring Bing Crosby. Armstrong soon began dating the female pianist in the band, Lillian Hardin. Similarly, many of his most influential recordings, like 1928's "West End Blues" and 1955's "Mack the Knife," have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. As swing and jazz was dominant as the pop music of the early 20th century, his influence is also evident in the transition from swing and jump blues into rock and roll. Different from most of his recordings of the era, the song features no trumpet and places Armstrong's gravelly voice in the middle of a bed of strings and angelic voices.

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